Bwin.party beta tests fast-fold offering
Fast Forward expected to launch for real-money before the end of the month.
Bwin.party is set to become the latest operator to push ahead with a fast-fold poker variant, beginning a play-money beta testing phase for its ‘Fast Forward’ offering.
While no precise date has been given for a real-money launch, the company is expected to launch micro-stakes cash games – with stakes up to US$0.05/0.10 – on its PartyPoker platform before the end of this month.
The news comes weeks after PartyPoker announced plans to remove high-stakes cash tables from its client, a move which – according to bwin.party – is designed “To make improvements to our poker ecology and [is] in our players best interests.”
According to Pokernews, new stakes will be introduced depending on player demand. It is unclear whether tournament and/or mobile versions will follow, and a bwin.party spokesman was unable to provide further details when contacted by eGaming Review.
A number of online poker operators have launched fast-fold variants in recent months, with PokerStars’ Zoom and Relax Gaming’s Fast Poker among them. Full Tilt’s Rush Poker was the first of its kind to go live, and PokerStars is yet to provide details as to whether it plans to revive the tournament and mobile elements of the product when it relaunches the brand later this year.
Bwin.party first provided details of Fast Forward in March this year, when co-CEO Jim Ryan announced that the then-unnamed product was “in development”. It is currently unclear whether Fast Forward will only be rolled out in dot.com markets, with Italian regulator AAMS requiring licensed operators to apply for specific approval for the variant.
The operator is anticipated to have combined the player pools for its PartyPoker and bwin brands before the end of the year, a process set in motion earlier in 2012.